Mandsaur Protest: MP Govt Removes Home Secretary

Mandsaur: Days after six farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, the state government removed Home Secretary Madhu Khare. Kedar Sharma takes over from Khare.

Farmers have been protesting in the region since June 1, demanding loan waivers and higher remunerative prices for their crops. Following the police firing in Mandsaur, the situation spiralled out of control with protesters resorted to looting and arson in several districts. Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits more than four people from gathering in a place, was imposed in the area soon after along with a curfew.

The Madhya Pradesh government Monday also appointed a single-member commission to inquire into the police firing incident that took place on June 6. Retired High Court judge Justice J K Jain would chair this Commission of Inquiry. “The commission headquarters will be at Indore and it will submit its report in three months,” a state public relations department official said.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan sat on an indefinite fast in an attempt to calm down the rising tempers. “I slept intermittently and all that while I kept thinking about what all topics – out of the ones we discussed with the farmers – can be worked upon as soon as possible,” Chouhan said on Sunday. He called off his fast at Bhopal’s Dussehra Maidan on Sunday.